


On Thin Ice

by evanspotter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Grimmauld Place, figure skating, muggle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-08-26 17:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16686070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evanspotter/pseuds/evanspotter
Summary: Tessa Fontana doesn't know what to do with her life now that she's retired from ice dancing, but her new weird neighbour might be of some help.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> IMPORTANT: The fancast for Sirius in this fic is BEN BARNES.

The icy wind nipped at my nose uncomfortably as I walked down the snowy street, my basket clutched to my side, as if it were going to provide me with some warm.

I stopped right in front of the house next to mine, number 12. It gave off a very creepy vibe, that's the reason why I'd left it for last. It seemed abandoned, but I wouldn't know unless I checked.

So I gathered my guts and slowly stepped up to the door and knocked gently. I could hear some shuffling inside but no one answered. I knocked again.

I exhaled sharply. Alright, if no one was going to answer I should leave, my leg was starting to hurt anyway.

Right then the old dusty knob on the door started to turn. My heart sped up. I tried to tell myself there was nothing to be scared of when the door finally opened just a crack, and I could make out a tall figure standing there.

It took me a few seconds to react, I tried my best to keep a friendly smile. "Uh hi! I'm Tessa, I'm your next door neighbour. I've baked some Christmas biscuits for the whole neighborhood, and I just wanted to offer you some and wish you a happy Christmas."

The figure said nothing, but slowly opened the door just a crack more. I could kind of see their face now, although it was obscured by the lack of lighting in the house. It was a man, with a sharp jawline, a beard and brown hair, and that was about as far as I could tell.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do now, why wasn't he saying anything? I looked down. "Um I know this is kind of odd, but I'm sort of in-between jobs right now and I have a lot of time in my hands and I really love Christmas. I promise they're at least kind of good." I took the last brown bag with the Christmas tree painted on it and offered it to him.

There were a few tentative seconds where I just stood there with my arm outstretched, starting to want the earth to swallow me, but then the man slowly took the bag from my hand and whispered a "thanks."

I exhaled and nodded. I took a few steps back. "Right, I should be going then. See you."

I hoped my fast pace didn't make it look like I was trying to get away as fast as I could, but I  _was_  trying to get away as fast as I could.

So, that was fucking creepy.

* * *

It wasn't until today that I had started getting back into normal after Christmas celebrations. Christmas at my mother's house had always been an extravagant affair, which I loved. I'd slept over there the past two days, so today had been all about putting things back in order.

I blasted Queen through my stereo and laid down on my mat to stretch a little. My recent surgery might've stopped me from full on work outs and skating for the time being, but the doctor had said I could start on the little things like stretching and some light exercise.

I held my good leg up to to touch my nose. Huh. Not to bad for a near thirty-year-old retired ice dancer.

I heard some loud banging noises from next door but I tried to dismiss it.

I finished my exercises and headed over to the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

Another loud bang coming from next door startled me and made me spill some water on the floor. Ugh.

I carefully stepped around the puddle to grab the mop from between the fridge and the oven. But it'd gotten stuck. Fuck.

My doctor would probably scold me for this but I pulled the fridge out of its little hole and reached behind it for the mop, when I noticed something on the wall.

It was a square, it reminded me of the garbage chute in my old apartment building, definitely big enough to fit one person through. I did not recall seeing that when I'd remodeled last year. But I could've just missed it, it was well camouflaged in the wall.

I climbed over the stove, to take a better look. It came up to my hips, and it looked like it could be a door, but there was no handle. I reached over to the counter on my right and grabbed a knife.

I jammed the knife into the tiny slot atop of the square in an attempt to open it. It took a few minutes but eventually the piece of drywall slammed off, hit me on the chest and fell down onto the ground.

I was kind of expecting it, but the mysterious square was a secret passage. Oh my god. This was one of the reasons I wanted to live in an old house filled with secrets in the first place.

Without even stopping to give thought to where I could possibly be heading to, I climbed through the square, I could barely just fit in on my hands and knees. It was about a metre and a half before I hit something.

The darkness inside was starting to freak me out a little so I frantically pushed at the barrier at the end, and it slammed open pretty easy.

It seemed like I had crossed over to number 12. The place looked as old and drab as I'd imagined, and in no condition to be inhabited. I'd arrived in the dining room, it seemed like it had once been used by a really fancy family about fifty years ago and then was just left like that.

And just a few metres behind the dining table, in the kitchen stood the inhabitant of the house, staring at me in shock.

I blushed as I climbed out of the trapdoor, which seemed to be hidden behind a painting on this side. "I am so sorry, I had no idea this was here, I just got curious, I'll go back now, I swear I won't open it again, in fact, I'll have it permanently shut." I rambled.

"It's fine." He said in a low voice.

I let out a breath I'd been holding. Now that I looked at him in the light, I realised that the man was in fact very handsome, though he looked a bit shabby and sleep deprived, it sort of worked for him. He seemed to be in his late thirties I would say, but maybe the tired look added a few years.

"I didn't know that was there either." He continued, not quite looking at me.

I glanced behind him to see a pot sizzling dangerously on the stove. "Uh, I think your food is burning."

He turned back to the pot with a start. He turned it off to try to salvage whatever he was making.

I walked past the dining table and approached the kitchen gingerly.

The man sighed in frustration as he stirred the contents of the pot hopelessly. His rice had turned out more like a paste.

"Is it edible?" I asked.

He seemed startled at my sudden nearness. He shook his head. "I'm really not good at this cooking thing."

Right in that moment, his gut gave a massive growl. I would've laughed, but I didn't think I was on that level with him yet.

This place might have given me the creeps, and this man might seem slightly hobo-ish, but the kicked puppy face he was making at the moment and his growling gut made me forget about the eerie-ness of the situation for a moment.

"I can help you cook if you'd like."

"Huh?" He looked at me as if searching for something in my expression.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, I like cooking, I wouldn't say I'm very good at it, but there's a few dishes that never fail me."

He deliberated for a few seconds before nodding.

"Alright, so, I gave you my name the other day, Tessa, and I think it's only fair I know yours too."

"Um, Alphard."

"Oh that's a cool name." I turned to the cupboard he had open already. There was barely anything in it. I looked around the kitchen. "Where's your fridge?"

"I don't have one."

I tried to keep the shock off my face. "Alright, I think I should go get a few things from my place, you don't have enough stuff to make a decent meal."

"You don't have to."

"It's fine, honestly, plus I should get you something ready to eat while we wait, you're hungry."

* * *

Alphard stood near me devouring a peach as I cooked the pasta in a pot.

We'd been silent nearly the whole time, it was slightly awkward, but he didn't seem like the small talk kind of guy.

I finished the spaghetti, and started plating it. His plates were really fancy, although old. "I'm using canned tomato sauce for now, because I haven't quite got the hang of making it myself yet, and I don't want to ruin this for you."

He nodded once. "It's fine." He stared at the plate. "Aren't you going to have some?"

"Oh, I didn't even think about it."

"Well, you made enough to feed an army." Was this man  _teasing_  me?

I felt a blush creep up my cheek. "I thought you could save some for tomorrow, and I'm also not very good with proportions yet."

Without another word I served another plate of pasta for myself.

We both sat down to eat facing each other at the end of the table, leaving a good six seats unoccupied.

He started eating slowly. "This is good."

I smiled. "Thanks."

Soon enough, he started almost wolfing down his food. I would've asked when was the last time he ate, but it'd probably be impolite. I settled on, "how long have you been living here?"

He swallowed hard and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I don't actually live here. This is my parents' house, but I moved out when I was sixteen. Then they both died, so now I own the place. I was in London and I needed a place to stay, so."

I think that's the first time he spoke more than two words to me.

I nibbled at my food. "Why don't you sell? Sentimental value?"

He scoffed. "Oh no, my parents were horrible people, I have horrible memories of this place. I guess it's just seemed like too much of a hassle to sell. I mean, cleaning it out would take ages."

I nodded in understanding.

He changed the subject quickly. "How long have you been living next door?"

"Uh about a year and a half. I really like old houses, but I did remodel before moving in, so it'd give off more of a rustic vibe than old."

Sirius nodded.

I hummed to myself as I took a few more bites of my food. "So how long are you staying?"

He stared down at his nearly empty plate. "Not sure, a week or two I guess."

"Hm."

We finished our food in silence. Then I helped him clean up in silence.

As I gathered the stuff I'd brought over from my place, I tore the label off the jar of tomato sauce and jotted down my number on it.

I handed the piece of paper to Alphard. "This is my number, in case you need anything while you're here. I'm home most of the time these days, I had surgery not too long ago so I'm supposed to be on bed rest most of the time, but I like to spend some time learning to cook and such."

Alphard took the paper and nodded. "Okay, thanks, for the meal."

I nodded and climbed back into the secret passage.


	2. Chapter 2

I was back at number 12 the next day.

Listen, I hadn't particularly enjoyed my time there, the place was kind of gross and creepy, and the company was, well, barely company. But I worried Alphard wasn't eating.

I'd made my mum's special lasagna today, and it had actually turned out quite good, so I decided to share it with Alphard.

At first I'd just figured I'd bring the food over and leave, but to my surprise Alphard had actually asked me to stay and eat with him.

So we both sat at the table slightly awkwardly.

"You're quite good with pasta." Alphard commented.

I looked up at him with a small smile on myself. "I kind of have to be, I'm Italian."

He gave me a curious look. "Really?"

"Yeah, I mean I was born here but my parents are both from Florence, they moved here after they got married."

He nodded slowly.

"How about you? You from here?"

"Yeah, generations of Londoners."

"But you're not living here at the moment?"

He cleared his throat. "Uh, no, I'm not exactly settled."

I nodded slowly, not quite sure what he meant by that.

Right in that moment I heard a faint ringing coming from the open trapdoor to my place. "Oh my god, I think that's my phone." I said as I stood up. "I'll be right back."

I crawled through the hole as quick as I could. And reached for my yellow phone on the wall just in time. "Hello?"

" _TESSA? IT'S ME, BEN_."

I removed the receiver from my ear a few inches. Why was he yelling? "Yes, Ben, I can hear you just fine."

" _I'm sorry_." He said in a regular tone. " _Sometimes I feel like overseas calls should have bad reception_."

Why was he such a grandpa?

" _Anyway, I just wanted to know how you're doing, how's the leg? Have you been following the doctor's instructions?"_

I crossed my arms over my chest in annoyance, did he  _have_  to say that like I wasn't going to follow the doctor's instructions? "It's fine, and yes, I have."

" _Because maybe you should reevaluate the possibility of staying at your mum's place for a while_."

I huffed. "I'm not an invalid. I've been doing fine on my own. How's Brazil? Or was it Argentina now?"

" _It's Rio de Janeiro, baby!_ " He exclaimed in a bad accent. " _Argentina's tomorrow. Hope you can cope without me for a couple weeks more_."

I laughed. "I think I'll manage."

" _Alright, I'll talk to you later. I love you_."

"Love you too."

He didn't waste a second to hang up.

I'd missed hearing Ben's voice. His month-long trip to the Caribbean and South America was probably the longest period of time we hadn't seen each other in about four years. I should probably start getting used to it though, once we stopped doing ice shows completely, we'd probably see less and less of each other, which made me sad.

Don't misinterpret this though. Ben and I had been skating together for almost twenty years now, which required a certain kind of partnership. He was certainly one of my best friends in the whole world, but that wasn't quite the wording I would use to describe the nature of our relationship. It was complicated, but we were close, that's all you need to know.

"I'm sorry, that was just my friend, he wanted to know how my recovery's going." I explained to Alphard as I sat back down at the table.

I noticed he was already done with his food. He was a fast eater.

"Do you mind if I ask why you had surgery?"

My brows raised slightly. This was the first time he actively inquired something about my life. "Uh I had a syndrome because of over exertion of the muscles in my leg."

"So that means you exercise a lot?"

"Yeah, you could say that."

I hurried to also finish my food. I could feel Alphard's eyes on me, as if he was trying to look beneath my skin.

I cleared my throat. "You know, I could help you clean up the place a little, to make it more uh, inhabitable."

He smiled slightly. "If you don't mind."

"It's fine, as I said, not much to do these days."

"Right then, tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow."

* * *

So I was back at Alphard's place for the third time. Not exactly something I expected after that first meeting with him where he managed to creep me out beyond measure.

I'd been helping him clean the living room for a couple of hours. It'd been pretty boring so far. Also pretty gross, most of the furniture was covered in sap and dust, which was very hard to remove, but we sat on the also dirty floor trying.

"You know what we need?"

Alphard looked up from the spot on the table he was cleaning. "What?"

"Some music."

I set the rag I'd been using aside, and stood up.

Alphard smiled. "That's a good idea."

I ran over to my place and grabbed my portable stereo, and a few CDs.

I sat back down on the floor, where I'd been trying to get the sap out of a table as the first song started playing.

' _I'd sit alone and watch your light_  
 _My only friend through teenage nights_  
 _And everything I had to know_  
 _I heard it on my radio._ '

I bopped my head along to the rhythm.

"Is that – is that Queen?"

Oh my god did he not know Radio Ga Ga, literally how?

He must have noticed the shock on my face as he quickly explained himself. "I mean, I love Queen, I really do, I just, where I've been living the past decade or so, was pretty far removed from the rest of the world. So, I'm not exactly up to date with them."

Oh my god, that is so sad. "I have to update you, then. You've missed so much! Including this song, apparently."

"Yeah, it's quite good."

"Where'd you leave off then? What was the last you heard of them?"

"Um Under Pressure had just been released."

"Oh I remember that! '81, I'd just become a fan. There's been like four albums since then." I gasped. "Wait, oh my god, you don't know, do you?"

He frowned. "Know what?"

My expression turned somber all of a sudden. "About Freddie."

The look in his eyes told me that he definitely did not know. "What about Freddie? Did he go solo? No way."

I shook my head. How was I supposed to break this news to him? "He – um, he passed away." I tried to use a soft tone.

His eyes widened in shock, and he laid back against the wall behind him. He frowned. "But – how?"

"He had AIDS."

"Oh."

"It was about three years ago, he worked for as long as he could. They released an album after, with the last material he recorded."

Alphard looked pensive. "Well that fucking sucks."

I smiled slightly. "It definitely does."

* * *

A loud knock startled me and I dropped the needle I'd been sewing with. Was that coming from where I thought it was?

I approached the fridge slowly. I'd put it back into place as a sort of makeshift door for the passage, since I couldn't put the drywall back up. I moved the fridge again, and sure enough, Alphard was at the end of the passage, giving me his puppy stare. Oh this was bad.

"Were you asleep?" Was the first thing he asked.

"No. Come in."

I helped him get off the tunnel and out from behind the fridge.

"What's up?"

He looked down, as if he was embarrassed. He stayed quiet for a moment, and then looked around the place, then I realised this was the first time he saw my place. It was a lot different from his. The main difference was that it was a lot cleaner. I had a lot of old stuff here too, just in good condition, the only noticeably more modern part was the kitchen. There were a few family portraits around, and the only skating memorabilia I had on display was a picture of me and Ben, I don't remember at what competition from a couple of years ago, that my mum really liked.

"Were you busy?" Alphard asked.

I guess he was judging by all the lights being on, the telly being on, the teacup on the coffee table and the fabric draped over the sofa.

"No, not really, just doing some sewing."

"I thought you might've been asleep already."

I absent-mindedly started straightening some things up in the house. "Yeah, I just, even though I've lived alone for a few years now I still get a bit freaked out some nights and I have to turn on all the lights and put on some background noise and get busy with something." I admitted. "So, was there something you needed?"

Alphard took a deep breath. "It's just - " He avoided my eyes and shook his head. "It's probably stupid - but I can't stand sleeping in that house. I just I have so many awful memories in that place, and I feel like I'm being haunted, and then I get these terrible nightmares. So, I guess I was just wondering if I could crash on your couch for tonight. I mean, you can say no, I know it's a lot to ask."

"You can." I said without even thinking. He seemed like had been though a lot and I had a too soft heart, okay? "Do you mind if just finish sewing my thing, it'll just be a few minutes, you can sit down."

Alphard gave a small sigh of relief. I then noticed that he was in what I assumed were his sleep clothes, which consisted of flannel pants and a t-shirt, which made me notice how sickeningly skinny he was. I'd have to take him to my mother's house one day, she'd fatten him up.

I sat back on the couch and picked up my needle. Alphard sat on the loveseat across from me. He stared at the TV for a bit, but then I could feel his eyes on me most of the time as I sewed. Surprisingly, this had been our least awkward silence yet.

"Okay, I'm done." I put my fabric aside. "I'll be right back."

I turned off the TV and ran upstairs to get him a pillow and a blanket.

He'd already switched to the sofa when I got back. He took the stuff from me with a quick thank you.

"Alright, I'll be upstairs. You can help yourself to anything from the kitchen if you get hungry during the night."

He put the pillow below his head and laid down. "Thanks, Tessa. Goodnight."

I smiled. "Goodnight, Alphard."

* * *

I awoke slowly the next day, I could tell from the light coming from behind the curtains that it was a bit late.

I'd actually fallen asleep pretty quickly once I'd gotten into bed. At first I'd freaked out that Alphard was actually a criminal and would steal all my stuff and murder me in my sleep, but then I figured that if he were going to do that, he would've done it a while ago, since it'd been about a week since he found out he pretty much had access to my house unseen any time he wanted. I still locked my bedroom door to feel a little safer.

But having another person in the house actually made me feel calmer.

When I finally went downstairs for breakfast it was 10am and Alphard was gone.

* * *

The Holiday season was always a hectic one for me. This year my family had laid off me a bit though, since I'd had the surgery so recently, and I was actually pretty thankful for that.

Alphard had slept at my place two more times after that day. It was a good arrangement, he didn't have to sleep in a place that gave him nightmares, and I felt safer at night. He hadn't been there for the past couple of days though, since I'd been at my mum's house, which  _was_  in London, just on the complete other side of London.

I loved my family, I truly did. My mum had been through so much to raise three daughters on her own, and she'd always tried to make our childhoods as fun as possible. Neither my sisters nor I ever missed a holiday at home. My mum's house just radiated warmth and joy and welcoming energy, I longed to have a house like that when I was older.

Epiphany Day wasn't the biggest holiday of the year, but my mum's deeply rooted Catholic faith meant going to church and then a celebration. I found church services rather boring, but I didn't mind as long as I got to eat my mother's food later.

I'd just arrived home carrying heaps of Tupperware filled with food. As I finished putting everything in its place, I grabbed the container with my mum's special fruitcake to bring to Alphard, I could not let him go on with his life without trying this cake.

I crawled through the passageway, threw open the door and just as I yelled out Alphard's name, I noticed the odd scene awaiting me.

Alphard was standing a few feet away from the passage with a worried expression on his face, and beside him was a man a little taller than him, with long-ish dirty blond hair, wearing some sort of cloak just as raggedy as Alphard's clothes. But the weirdest thing was, the blond man was pointing a wooden stick at me, as if it were some sort of magic wand.

I frowned as the strange man yelled something like "how did you get in here?" then he yelled out " _Bombarda_!" and a jet of red light spurt out of his stick and caused a small explosion on the wall behind me out of nowhere. I jumped in shock.

_What the hell?_

I then heard another yell of a word along the lines of 'stupid-something', and then everything went black.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke with a start, I was still lying on the same spot were I'd passed out, so I assumed not much time had gone by.

Both men were still there, and Alphard helped me get on my feet.

I had a deep frown etched on my face. "Okay, is anyone going to explain what just happened?"

"Oh, is that for me?" Alphard asked, pointing to the container full of cake I'd dropped to the floor at some point, and picked it up.

I stared at him in disbelief as he sat at the table and asked his friend for a fork, which he delivered, then they both started eating my mum's cake.

I tried not to scoff. "Um excuse me?"

The strange man looked at me. "Oh I'm sorry, I'm Remus Lupin, I'm a friend of um Alphard's. And I'm really sorry about that whole thing earlier, I thought you were an intruder."

"Yeah, I'm more interested in the part were you threw an invisible bomb at me and then made me faint." I was trying really hard to keep my composure.

Both men exchanged a look. Then Alphard tried to brush it off nonchalant. "Remus here is a master of illusion."

I shook my head. "No, that was no illusion, I'm not stupid, I demand a proper explanation."

Alphard sighed. "I told you she's too smart, Moony."

Remus started looking incredibly uncomfortable. "But then what are we supposed to...?" He was trying to whisperer to his friend. "We can't take her to be obliviated, it's too risky, and we can't do it ourselves, that's even riskier."

What were they on about?

Alphard sighed deeply again. "Maybe we should just tell her?"

Remus gave him a look. "Are you nuts?"

"I trust her."

"You've known her for what? Two weeks?"

"Well, it's not like we have much option. And let me remind you that this is all your fault coming here attacking Muggles? Have you turned to the dark side now?"

I grew more and more frustrated as they argued. "Okay I swear to god, if someone doesn't say anything of use to me in the next second."

Alphard looked at me with a very soft look on his face, that I'd never seen before. He took a deep breath. "Tessa." He paused. "What I am about to tell you is very sensitive information, which you must not reveal to anyone under any circumstances."

Remus sighed in defeat and leaned back on his chair.

Alphard ignored him. "Remus and I are wizards."

I frowned. What were they on? "What does that mean?"

"It means we can do actual magic, we have wands, and we can do spells and jinxes with them, and we can make potions, and apparate at will." Alphard stated, matter-of-fact. "Remus, please."

With an almost lazy flick of Remus's 'wand', a bunch of objects in the room started levitating.

I tensed up. What the hell?

Alphard was looking at me with a worry filled expression. "But please, Tessa, you cannot tell anyone, we're not supposed to tell you this."

"You know what? I just, I need some time to process this, I should go." And almost stumbling over my own feet, I ran off towards the passageway.

I could hear Alphard call after me, but I'd already gone through.

* * *

When I woke up the next morning, the events of the previous day hit me like a ton of bricks.

Magic.

As a kid and even as a tween I'd been fascinated by the idea of magic powers. But never in a million years would I have believed it was actually possible.

I tried so hard last night when I went to bed to debunk what I'd been shown at Alphard's house, but I kept coming up empty.

I hadn't known Alphard for long, but I'd say we were more or less, friends, though surely revealing this kind of information to a friend came once a lot more trust had been built. But both Alphard and his friend seemed like they had no option but to tell me after what I'd seen. I felt wrong knowing this secret, it definitely wasn't meant for me to know, but there had been something that made both men feel like they had no choice but to tell me.

So, I concluded that the best course of action now was to accept the situation, and treat Alphard normally, though on the back of my mind I couldn't help but be skeptical about this whole thing, I mean, it sounded like crazy talk. But I'd already weighed the facts, and I was going to go with the whole magic thing.

I was kind of nervous about seeing Alphard again though, so I decided I wouldn't reach out just yet.

Though it seemed like I wouldn't have to. Because at the door, huddled up in a hoodie and with puppy dog eyes was Alphard.

"Can we talk?" He asked. "I thought it'd be more polite to come to the door than through the passage."

It must've been a little obvious how shocked I was as I stood there like an idiot for a few seconds, before stepping aside and opening the door wider to allow the man in.

We sat at opposite ends of the sofa. I was trying to avoid looking at him so I grabbed my embroidery hoop I'd been working on before he arrived and continued on the pattern I'd been embroidering.

"So, what'd you want to talk about?" I focused on the light pink stitches in my flower.

I could feel Alphard shuffling nervously on his seat. "I just wanted to know what you thought. About this whole thing."

Him saying that made this situation way too real. I gulped. "Um." My brows settled into a frown. I'd always been taught that honesty was the ideal first step to resolving a problem. So I guess we were doing this then. "I'm still a bit in shock about everything. I really wasn't expecting to be told that magic was real, but I appreciate the fact that you trust me with such a big secret. I still can't help but being skeptical about it all though, to be honest."

Alphard nodded. "I guess being skeptical is expected, I didn't exactly go about this slowly. And Tessa, you're about the most trustworthy person I've ever met. I'm sure anyone who speaks to you for more than five minutes automatically wants to tell you all their secrets."

I couldn't help a tiny smile from creeping onto my face. I chuckled. "If you say so. But I don't think that was enough grounds to just plain tell me you're a wizard after three weeks of knowing each other."

I finally snuck a peek at Alphard, whose expression had gone a bit somber.

"Yeah, I know. But, well, Remus kind of fucked up."

"You wanted to do something to make me forget, didn't you?"

He seemed surprised I'd realised. "Well, yeah, usually when a Muggle – someone without magic – sees something to do with magic accidentally, there's a spell to make them forget."

I was finally looking at him properly, trying to search for something in his expression. "Why didn't you make me forget then?"

Now it was Alphard who was trying to avoid my eyes. "It's a... complicated spell. Messing with the mind is never easy. Remus has never done it before, and I didn't want him to hurt you by accident."

"Can't you do it?"

"Uh, no."

"Couldn't you ask someone else to do it?"

I could tell Alphard was getting very uncomfortable.

"I'm just, in a complicated situation right now. I couldn't."

I decided to leave the topic alone for the time being and just nodded.

We stayed quiet for a few minutes, just sitting there, at opposite ends of the sofa not looking at each other.

Alphard cleared his throat. "So, do you think things could go back to normal between us?" He asked tentatively.

I frowned deeply. "I really want that, Alphard. But, I have to be honest, I do trust you, but thinking about the possibilities of what you could do with magic scares me a little."

Alphard sat up. "Oh I can't do magic though."

I looked at him, confused. "What?"

"I mean, I  _can_. But my wand is broken, and most wizards can't really do magic without a wand."

"That's awful. Can't you get a new one?" I asked.

He looked down, uncomfortable. "Not right now. Money's a bit tight, and wands aren't exactly cheap."

"Oh." In that moment I couldn't help for my heart to go out to him. A wizard who couldn't do magic. That's gotta be a bit frustrating. And all because of money! Capitalism really was the worst. "You can still stay here at night, but you have to explain more about the magic world to me."

And he did.

For the next few days, things were almost back to normal. I'd go over to Alphard's place to cook, he would sleep on my couch. I still locked my bedroom door though.

Dinner was time used almost exclusively to talk about magic. Everything Alphard told me sounded amazing. From the wizard school he'd attended (which was the thing he spoke most fondly about), to the spells and potions, to wizard money, to even wizard government. Admittedly, this was the most exciting thing that had happened to me in a while.

Even though, Alphard couldn't currently perform magic himself, he'd shown me some things from the magical world. Like, pictures! Which were my favourite thing ever! They moved. It was as if you were looking at a memory itself. It captured the spirit of the moments so well. In fact, after he'd shown me a few pictures from wizard newspapers, I'd demanded more, and Alphard had taken me up to his childhood room.

We'd had a bit of a delay at the stairs on the way to Alphard's room though. As, lining up the walls were the decapitated rotting heads of some sort of wrinkly humanoid creatures. I'd almost had a heart attack when I saw them, for which Alphard apologised for forgetting to warn me. Apparently, those had been there his whole life and he'd gotten used to them. After he explained to me what they were and having to almost drag me up the stairs, we finally reached the first floor.

Alphard's old room seemed like it hadn't seen the light of day in years. But it seemed as if it hadn't been touched since he was last there, which I pointed out to him.

"Yeah, I put spells on most of the stuff here so my mother couldn't get rid of it." He explained.

I sat on the bed trying to take it all in. The walls were almost completely covered with things. There were pictures of whom I assumed was Alphard with his friends, a crest with the word 'Gryffindor' beneath it, posters of bands, and, as I should probably have expected from a teenager's bedroom, a poster of a half-naked woman on a motorcycle. I pointed to it, and turned to Alphard. "Your girlfriend?"

He seemed a seemed a tiny bit embarrassed. "I put it up because I knew my mum would hate it. A Muggle picture, a Muggle girl, a Muggle vehicle, and generally distasteful... and, well, I was also a teenage boy."

I smiled. It was nice to see him not be so somber for once.

I continued to look at the walls as he rummaged through some drawers.

Alphard sat on the bed beside me, holding an old shoebox. "These are mostly pictures of me friends from school and I. I haven't looked at them in years though."

He seemed scared to open the box.

"Do you not talk to them anymore?"

"It's complicated. Remus is one of them, I still talk to him. Lily and James, well, they died about thirteen years ago."

I let out a soft gasp, and placed a hand gently on Alphard's arm. "That's horrible."

He stared at the box. "Yeah, it was a pretty rough time for me."

"We don't have to look at them, if you don't want."

"No, it's fine. I mean, it's been a long time, I've made my peace with their deaths."

And just like that he finally opened the box. He took out a picture and stared at it for a long second before a forlorn smile settled on his face. He handed it to me. "This was on our graduation day."

It was a group of four boys in black robes, all laughing as they held their rolled up diplomas. It was incredibly cute.

I smiled. "Oh, is that you?"

Alphard nodded. He still looked a lot alike.

I then noticed the date scribbled on the corner of the picture. 23/6/78. "You graduated in '78?"

He nodded. "I'm 35." He saved me the maths.

Huh. My guessings had been pretty accurate.

"That's Remus." Alphard pointed to the guy beside himself, he hasn't changed a lot either. "And that's James." The guy on his other side, he had jet black messy hair and wore squared glasses. "That's Peter, we don't really talk to him anymore." Peter was the shortest of the four, he had a certain look of innocence in his round chubby face.

"What subjects did you say you did your NEWTs in? Potions and...?" I can't believe that's an actual sentence I just said.

"Yeah, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Defense. Actually I think Defense is the subject I could really use at the moment. Protective spells are always good."

That comment made me remember something. "Hey, I've actually been thinking about it, and I think I can lend you the money to buy a wand."

His eyes widened. "Oh, I could never – "

I cut him off. "It's fine. It's not that much, and I feel better about this whole situation now that I know more about magic."

He smiled warmly at me. "That's very sweet of you, Tessa, but I don't think I can buy a wand any time soon."

I frowned. "Why not?"

He paused for a moment. "I'm sort of under house arrest at the moment. Because of my old job as a dark wizard catcher, I messed with some dark, powerful wizards and they have it out for me, I'm hiding out here because no one actually knows where my parents' house is, and it already has a bunch of protective spells. But I swear to you, even if they found me, they won't hurt you, they can't, I asked Remus to put a protective spell on your house."

Wait, what now? I'd actually suspected Alphard wasn't leaving his house at all already, since I pretty much wasn't leaving mine either, but I'd been too embarrassed to admit I was just home alone all the time. Alphard had told me about dark magic, and I should've known that something that sounded so unbelievably amazing, like magic, had to have a downside to it, which I'd learned was dark magic. It sounded scary, but I tried not to think about it. Though what Alphard just told me wasn't helping.

I'd just happened to befriend the wizard with the worst luck ever, hadn't I?

"That is truly awful. I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'm sort of under house arrest too, with my surgery and not having an actual job. I know it's not the same thing, but."

"Maybe we can keep each other company in our solitude."

I looked at Alphard as a light bulb lit up in my brain. "Wait. What if I go buy your wand for you?"

He gave me a slightly horrified look. "What?"

"I mean, you can't tell if someone's a wizard or not just by looking at them, can you?"

"Uh, I guess not."

"So, it'll be fine, I'll just go to the wizard shopping centre buy a wand and get out."

"I guess it could work."

I grinned. "It totally will! So, let's get to planning then."


	4. Chapter 4

The day had finally come. I was going to the Diagon Alley by myself. I was getting wizard money. I was buying a wand. And it was nerve-wracking.

I walked along the street where the Leaky Cauldron was supposed to be. Alphard had given me very specific directions to where it was, since Muggles weren't supposed to see it.

" _Stop, it's right there_."

Alphard's voice came from the tiny piece of mirror attached to my neck. Alphard happened to own two magic mirrors which had broken years ago, which basically worked like phones, except you could also see the person on the other end. It was really cool.

At first, Alphard had suggested I hide the five inch mirror in my pocket, but I'd had the much better idea to cut up a smaller piece of the mirror and fashion it into a necklace so Alphard could easily see everything I saw, while keeping his mirror at an angle where  _he_  couldn't be seen. And if he spoke quietly, only I could hear him. Not to brag but it was the perfect plan.

I stopped where Alphard said. Right there stood what looked like an old abandoned shop, just like Alphard had described, I can't believe I almost missed it. Guess those anti-Muggle spells really did do something.

I walked slowly at first, but soon picked up the pace into a confident stride. I had to blend in.

I opened the old rusty door only to find a completely different world on the other side. It actually wasn't a very impressive sight, just a bunch of oddly dressed people hanging out at a pub. But it was the little things that made it exciting. Like the odd foods and dishes flying around on their own.

My heart sped up as I walked up to the barkeep, it was now that all those years of listening to my mother's thick Italian accent would pay off.

" _Scusami_ , I'm not from around here, would you mind helping me get into the Alley?" I recited in my best Italian accent.

The man nodded, then he walked with me out back, where a plain brick wall and a bin stood. He then took out his wand and tapped on a specific series of bricks and recited the instructions to me, which went in one ear and out the other.

I stood by as the bricks started drawing apart shaping themselves into an arch.

The sight on the other side of the wall was quite impressive. Wizard shops were really different from Muggle ones. They seemed more rustic, and filled with a lot of weird things... which I guessed were normal to wizards. I tried not to people watch too much, as to not be suspicious, but wizards really just wore the most curious outfits.

" _Alright now, Gringotts is just straight ahead a couple of blocks._ "

Alphard's voice brought me back to the task at hand. I walked ahead confidently, trying really hard not to stare at things. The only shop I couldn't help but take a few seconds looking at was the animal shop, filled with owls and other animals I could not recognise.

The wizard bank, Gringotts, was hard to miss. The imposing white building stood tall in the middle of the alley. It made me extremely nervous. I didn't stop though. The faster I went in, the sooner it would be over.

I quickly located the sign that pointed to the monetary exchange in the fancy atrium. Any other day, I would've stopped to admire the architecture and tasteful decoration, but today I just headed directly to my destination.

The monetary exchange desk only had one person being attended to. I lined up behind him, and managed to catch a glance at the teller behind the desk. I knew it would be a goblin. Alphard had told me. But seeing it in real life was completely... surreal. I quickly removed my glance though, I was supposed to be a witch, who knew all this by heart.

The man in front of me quickly left, and it was my turn way too soon.

My nerves got stuck in my throat for a second as the goblin looked at me with the most over it expression. I cleared my throat. "Um, I would like to exchange this."

I set my pound notes on the desk, which the goblin quickly took, examining for a second, then he produced a hefty amount of gold coins and placed them where my Muggle money had been a second ago. His facial expression did not change during the whole process.

I tried a smile. "Thank you."

I took my Galleons, and bolted out of there.

I was so curious to look at the Galleons in my pocket, but I restrained myself. I mean, if I just gave them a quick once over, surely it wouldn't be so suspicious? No, I couldn't fuck this up. God knows what could happen if I did. I could hold my curiousity for a few hours.

" _You're doing great, Tessa. Just one more stop._ " Alphard encouraged me from my necklace.

I smiled and nodded, even though he couldn't see me. I hoped the people around couldn't hear.

" _Just keep going this way, nearly at the entrance of the alley, it'll be on your left, a shop with a sign that says Ollivander's._ " Alphard instructed.

I continued walking through the paved streets. My wizard robe was starting to feel a little warm. There weren't many people around but I felt like everyone was staring at me.

I passed a lot of very interesting looking shops, and it took all of my willpower not to stop at any of them, especially the bookstore. But I finally reached Ollivander's

A bell rang through the place as I opened the door. There were stacks upon stacks of boxes of wands piled up against the walls, they looked like they could fall over any minute, but they probably wouldn't, because of magic.

"Hello, what may I help you with?"

An old man with long white hair came out from somewhere amongst the boxes, he smiled at me, he seemed kind.

I then remembered my accent. "Yes, I'm looking to buy a wand."

He walked over to his desk. "For yourself? I don't recall selling you a wand before, I would remember."

"No, it's for someone else. And I did get my wand elsewhere." My heart sped up as I said the words. I was really pretending to be a witch.

"Oh, never a good idea to not buy your own wand."

I tried to smile innocently. "Ah, of course, but you know, the person I'm buying for is in a bit of a bind, so any wand will do, preferably a... flexible one." I had no idea what that meant, but Alphard had told me to say it.

"Right then." The man I'd assumed was Ollivander dove into his stacks of boxes, analysing a few, before deciding for one. "I guess this could do."

Inside the box was a ten inch polished wooden... stick, which looked pretty simple. I truly had no idea how wands worked so I said it was fine.

Ollivander gave me the specifications of the wand, which went in one ear and out the other, before charging me eight Galleons.

I handed over the money, and just like that, I, a Muggle, had just purchased a magic wand.

I thanked the man and walked out of the shop with a sigh of relief.

I paused outside Ollivander's and thought for a second. "Where's that ice cream shop you kept talking about?"

" _Fortescue's? I don't think it's a good idea to go there_."

"Why not? I think everything's going even better than we thought, we deserve a treat."

" _Are you sure?_ "

"Just tell me where it is."

Alphard gave in with a sigh. He led me to the picturesque ice cream shop, not too far from the wand shop. The flavour options were kind of hard to interpret, but I chose the two that sounded nicer, and walked out of there with two pints in a bag.

"See? That was so easy."

Alphard said nothing, but I could feel his sigh.

I started to head for the exit for good now, feeling a lot lighter. I was more openly staring at the shops now, and it was while I craned my neck to look at a sign with spiraling lettering, that I crashed hard into someone. I held my weight with my arms as to not land on my bad leg. My bag of ice cream went flying and landed right on my chest, spilling all over me, staining my cloak and my necklace.

I looked up at the perpetuator of my fall. It was a girl with bright pink hair, and a narrow face, which looked genuinely sorry for what happened.

"Merlin's beard, I'm so sorry, I'm such a klutz, let me help you." The pink-haired girl spoke so quickly I barely understood what she was saying.

The girl took my hand, and helped me up. My chest was starting to feel like it was about to actually freeze. The girl took out her wand and pointed it at me, which scared me a little, she then said something like " _Tergeo_." And I was instantly cleaned up and warm again.

I looked down at my now clean clothes. "Thanks."

"Oh, it's nothing, it was totally my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going, and I was also going really fast. I'm really sorry, let me get you another ice cream."

"Oh no, that's fine, I should be leaving anyway." I quickly turned her down.

"No, please, I feel so bad." She insisted. "It'll only take a second."

I had to make a choice quickly, and Alphard couldn't help me because if he spoke, the girl would hear him for sure. I frowned. "Okay, sure."

The girl smiled widely. "Great! Let's go, my name's Tonks by the way."

We started walking back towards Fortescue's.

"I'm Tessa. Nice to meet you."

Tonks chuckled. "Not so nice for you, I bet you wouldn't believe me if I told you I'm an Auror."

Shit. What was an Auror again? I gave a short laugh. "Really?"

"Yeah, hard to believe, is it?" We reached the shop. "Anyway, I don't recall seeing you at Hogwarts."

Oh shit I'd forgotten my accent. "Um, I didn't go to Hogwarts, I grew up in Italy, I moved here when I was twenty."

"Well, you have perfect English." Tonks complimented me.

Tonks bought the ice cream for me and I made no further comment, as I already felt bad enough lying to her.

"Thanks so much for the ice cream, I should get going though." I said as we left the shop.

"Yes, of course. We should hang sometime. What's your surname? So I can owl you."

"Fontana." I said without thinking. This would come back to bite me in the arse, wouldn't it?

I said my goodbyes to the curious pink-haired woman and almost ran out of the Alley.

" _I can't believe you just did that._ " Alphard's shocked voice came from my neck. I'd almost forgotten about the mirror.

"Which part?"

"Um your new apparent friendship with Nymphadora."

Um, whomst? I frowned. "Nympha-what?"

" _Tonks. You just befriended my niece_."

Oh my god. "Well, at least that means she  _is_  trustworthy, right?"

Alphard sighed. " _Luckily, yes. Her mum was one of my few cousins who didn't hate me. Actually, the_ only _cousin who didn't hate me._ "

"Oh. Well, that was fun."

" _That was very stressful_."

"But no one suspected a thing."

" _So you're just going to befriend Tonks and lie about being a witch?_ "

I frowned. I really did not want to do that. "We'll deal with that when it's time. Who knows? She might not even owl me."

Alphard groaned.

What was he bring so negative about?

I smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

In the month that I had known Alphard Bones he had slowly come to see my house as his second home, I was sure though, that it was mostly because he would rather be anywhere than at his parents' house.

At first he'd come over and just sit stiffly, now he sat a little looser, and we actually made some conversation. Before though, I'd had to assure him a million times that he wasn't imposing on me, I appreciated the company.

We'd been sitting quietly in the living room, I, sewing and Alphard reading a book I'd lent him, when there had been a knock at the door.

Remus had assumed his friend was at my place since he wasn't answering his own door. I'd invited him in, of course. I didn't know Remus very well, but he had kind eyes, even if he had attacked me the first time we met.

Remus sat on the couch next to his friend, I meant to leave, so they'd talk comfortably, but they'd insisted I stayed.

Their talk mainly consisted of Remus asking Alphard how he was doing and the whole generic questions that came with that.

Remus shuffled on his seat, as if he was uncomfortable, and frowned. "Sorry." He interrupted his friend, who'd been talking about what we had for dinner yesterday. "There's just something." Remus shuffled again, and moved from his seat to see what we was sitting on. I had no idea what could it be.

Remus dove his hand between the couch cushions and pulled out a blue ribbon that I recognised with a small gasp. He kept pulling, until a silver coloured medal popped up from the depths of the couch. He stared at it for a second.

"Oh my god, so that's where I left that."

Remus turned the medal over and frowned. "Wait. Is this... an Olympic medal?"

I blushed. "Uh yeah."

Remus stared at me as if I was a maths problem he was trying to figure out. "Why do you have an Olympic medal stuck inside your couch?"

He held the medal by the ribbon, as if he didn't dare touch the metal.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I must've taken it out for something and left it on the couch and forgot about it."

Remus kept staring at me. "Wait. So, this is yours?"

"Well, yeah, that's why it's in my house." I reasoned.

"What did you, what  _do_  you do?"

"Uh ice dancing."

Something seemed to click in Remus's brain. "Wait, you're from Fontana/Gilmore?"

"I thought wizards had no idea about Muggle sports."

Alphard seemed to be taking an interest in our conversation, although he didn't seem like he knew what was happening.

"I'm a half-blood, my mum tells me about the Olympics whenever they happen, she was obsessed with you after last year's Games." Remus explained.

Aw that was so cute. "That's so nice. Tell her I said hi."

"Wait, what is going on now?" Alphard finally asked.

Remus looked at his friend exasperated. "She's Tessa Fontana, she just won gold in ice dancing at the Olympics."

Alphard looked at him dumbfounded.

Wizards were truly clueless.

"It's like the World Cup but for all Muggle sports. It's a huge deal." Alphard tried to explain.

Alphard's eyes widened. "You won the Muggle World Cup?"

I frowned. "Well, that's one way of looking at it."

"She has  _four_  Olympic medals though." Remus told his friend.

Alphard looked at me in a shock. I hoped he wouldn't be weird about this. He thought for a moment before an idea came to him. "Wait, so when you say you're in-between jobs... ?"

"Well, I've just retired from skating, and I do have an art history degree, I'm just not sure what to do with it yet." I explained.

"Oh."

Remus chuckled, incredulous. "This is amazing! You're like a whole celebrity in the Muggle world, and I've seen you compete, you and your partner are so good!"

I smiled. It was always nice to be appreciated. "Thanks. Would you like to see the other medals? They're upstairs."

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Oh, not at all." I was used to showing off the medals.

I ran upstairs quickly, and from the top of my closet I reached for the wooden box my mum had had custom made for me. It was about the size of a shoebox, and had the Olympic rings engraved on top. I found it easier to keep the medals there instead of in their individual boxes, which I had around somewhere. I opened the box to quickly check all four medals were there. I frowned as I spotted some silver. Why did I have two Albertville medals? Huh, Ben must've left his medal here, the issue was now which medal was whose.

Ah, I'd figure it out later.

I ran back downstairs. I handed the box to Remus, who opened it carefully.

"Hey, so is that picture of you with a guy kissing your hands, your partner?" Alphard asked. He was looking at the picture he'd just described on the bookshelf.

"Yeah, that's Ben. My mum loves that picture."

Remus rolled his eyes slightly. "See? I told you."

Alphard ignored his friend and continued carefully inspecting the picture, which I didn't know why I felt a little weird about.

I sat next to Remus and gave the brief explanation for each medal, which included which Games they were from, who else had medalled, and a brief recap of our performance at said Games. Alphard had joined us at some point, and even seemed impressed by the end of my explanation.

"Well, it's nice to know my neighbour just happens to be one of the best ice dancers in the world." Alphard remarked.

I blushed. "Well..."

"Don't even argue, that's like, a fact." Remus stopped me.

I smiled and backed down. "Alright."

* * *

_Tessa,_

_Hello, this is Tonks! Remember me? Crashed into you and made you spill ice cream all over your robes at Diagon Alley? Yeah, that Tonks. I just wanted to see if you wanted to go get a coffee with me, maybe this Thursday at 6pm? I swear I'm fun when I'm not spilling things! Let me know if you can._

_See ya,_   
_N. Tonks_

Alphard examined the short letter inside and out, though  _what_  he was looking for, I wasn't sure.

I'd freaked out a little bit when the tawny owl had showed up at my window, I thought it was going to attack me. But it just stood there calmly and slowly extended its leg, which had a letter attached to it.

I then realised that the owl was being more mature than me, and gingerly took the letter from it.

The bird had at some point made its way into my house and currently stood on my dining table, just staring at me.

I'd rushed over next door to ask Alphard for help, I wasn't sure what the proper owl post etiquette was.

So I sat on the couch, having a staring contest with the owl while Alphard analysed the letter to make sure it wasn't cursed or something.

"Don't you have owl treats or something?" Alphard asked.

Why would I – "No, I don't have owl treats, what do owls even eat?"

Alphard sighed. "It doesn't matter, but we should answer quickly, so it doesn't get mad at you for not feeding it."

"Well, are you done checking the letter?"

"I think it's fine."

"What should I answer then?"

"Well, personally I don't think it's a good idea to befriend Tonks, but it's up to you."

"Why?"

"I just think it's not such a good idea for you to be so exposed to the wizarding world right now."

I nodded slowly. "Okay, I know my answer then."

Alphard frowned as I took a pen and paper.

* * *

"Tessa! Wotcher!"

I turned around to see Tonks's pink head of hair rushing towards me.

I stood up to greet the girl. "Hi, how are you?"

"Oh I'm great. And I know who you are!"

I felt my smile drop. What the hell was that supposed to mean? I looked at Tonks dumbfounded.

"My dad told me! He's a muggleborn, you see. He has a big family of all Muggles, and he still reads the Muggle paper, and when I told him your name he instantly recognised it, and told me all about you! Olympic gold medalist!"

I sighed in relief. "Oh, that, of course."

"So, how come no one knew you were a witch?"

I took a deep breath, it wasn't until now that I realised I couldn't lie. "Because... I'm not."

"Oh."

I pushed my hair back. "I have a friend who's a wizard, I went on an errand for him to the alley and I thought if people realised I was a Muggle, I'd get in trouble or something, I don't know."

Tonks burst out into a hearty laugh. "That is so funny."

I couldn't help but chuckle a little too. "Leave me alone."

"What's your friend's name? Maybe I know him?"

"Um Alex Grey, he's a muggleborn." I lied, hoping Tonks couldn't see right through me.

"Mm, I don't think I know him." Tonks's laughter finally piped down.

I blushed. "Can we never speak of this again?"

Tonks smiled cheekily. "Alright, so about the ice dancing thing, my father is very interested in whether you and Ben are a couple, since you're so intense on the ice."

I rolled my eyes internally. When would people calm down with that?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't speak Italian, but I s2g I tried my hardest with the Italian bits, still if there are any corrections lmk. Also, I got a bit of dialogue from this movie review : https://boxd.it/sXXWj , I thought it was really fitting.

 

"No, the flowers are burgundy and the base colour is black."

Alphard sighed before starting to rummage through fabric again. I felt slightly bad about having Alphard look through the dozens of different fabrics I kept atop my closet, but what was the point of having someone nearly a foot taller than you around if he wasn't going to help you reach the tall shelves?

"I still don't understand why you need all this stuff for." Alphard said with a grunt.

"I'm making some makeup bags, but I still haven't decided which fabric I'm using."

Alphard stopped in his tracks and looked back at me. "And couldn't you decide  _before_  making me do this?"

He was sweating profusely, he really was not in shape.

"I need to look at them right, feel them, see how they match."

Alphard stayed quiet, but I could tell he was screaming internally.

Right then, I heard the click of the front door opening and my heart almost stopped. Alphard stopped what he was doing too as the door shut and someone came into the house.

"Tessa! Are you home?"

Shit. I stiffled a gasp. It was my sister.

"Are you upstairs?"

She must've heard noise coming from up here.

Alphard quickly stepped down from the small stool he'd been standing on.

I gestured to the closet with a panicked look.

Alphard stepped inside, making a hole in my dresses and I shut the door quickly.

"Tessa?"

My sister stepped into my room.

I hoped I didn't look too suspicious just standing in front of the closet doors. "Ari!"

I walked towards my newly redheaded sister and enveloped her in a hug.

"What were you doing?"

"Oh just getting some fabric for a project." I said absentmindedly.

Ari then decided to walk into my closet room to see for herself and my mind reeled. What if she saw Alphard? What if she could somehow tell that someone was in the closet? Okay, I needed to stop being so paranoid.

"You managed to reach all the way up there with only that tiny stool?" Ari's voice reached me.

How dare she insinuate I was short. "With some strategic acrobatics, yes."

Ari huffed, I couldn't see her, but I could tell she was rolling her eyes.

My sister walked back out into my room, and I let out the breath I'd been holding.

"Have you given any thought to what we talked about on Christmas?" Ariel asked.

I cringed internally and collapsed on my bed face first. "Kind of."

"I mean, I think it's totally fine if you keep doing ice shows for a few years and then start coaching or choreographing."

I only groaned in response. I hated talking about the future, and knowing Alphard might be listening made me really uncomfortable.

"Plus, if you do that and keep doing endorsements, you will have more than enough money to live comfortably for the rest of your life. I get that you want to do something with the education you worked so hard to get, but there's no shame in keeping doing what you love." Ariel lectured.

I sighed. " _Non è circa denaro. Sono sicura che voglio fare qualcosa con il mio grado. Nuota più io sono nervosa su dovere entrare lavorare propriamente per la prima volta nella mia vita._ "  _It's not about money. I'm sure I want to do something with my degree. I'm just nervous about entering the workforce for the first time in my life._  I replied in Italian, so Alphard wouldn't understand.

Ariel frowned slightly, she was probably a bit confused at the sudden language change. "Tess, if you do get a job, you're great at everything that you do, don't you remember when we were little and you tried every single activity there existed and nailed it every time?"

" _Quella è la cosa. Ventitre anni fa che non provare qualcosa nuovo, ¿e se non sono più buono con cose nuove?_ "  _That's just it. It's been twenty-three years since I tried something new, wha if I'm not good at new things anymore?_  I confessed.

Ariel looked at me compassionately. " _So che ti andrà bene. Perché il tuo non è per fortuna, è perché lavori sodo. Inoltre, sai che mamma e Celeste e sono qui per aiutarti con ciò che è_."  _I know you'll do well. Because yours isn't luck, it's hard work. Besides, you know Mum and Celeste and I are here to help you with anything._

Thank god she finally caught my drift with the Italian.

I sat up and smiled. "You're the little sister, you're not supposed to be so wise." I took her hand in mine.

Ari scoffed. "Let me know if you decide to apply for a job, so I can help."

"You've never even had a job though."

Ariel shrugged. "I've applied for scholarships."

That she had. But wait. I frowned. "So have I."

"Oh my god, that's right. You  _have_  tried new things, you went to university!" Ari exclaimed.

Oh, right. "It's not the same though."

I laid down my torso on my sister's lap with a sigh. "Is this the reason why you came here?" I asked after a minute.

Ari perked up. "Well, yeah, but I thought we could also play a game of Dub That Film."

I sat up and smiled. "You're on."

* * *

Dub That Film was a game where we watched a movie with the audio muted and tried to make up funny dialogue in place of what the characters were saying. Oh, and if you missed a bit of dialogue you had to take a shot.

I sincerely adored playing the game with my sisters, but I felt bad about having Alphard locked in my room for so long, so I tried to rush it a little bit (also not get that drunk). And my sister finally left about an hour and a half into the movie.

"I'm so sorry." I said as I opened the door to my room.

I quickly shut up though, as I realised Alphard was fast asleep on my bed, snoring slightly.

I decided to leave him be. He deserved to sleep in a comfortable bed for once, my sofa, although comfy, wasn't a proper place to sleep.

I watched Alphard for a few seconds. He looked so at peace sleeping, it took years off his face. I shouldn't stare though, it was weird.

I turned off the light and shut the door.

"NO! MOTHER STOP! GET AWAY!"

I woke with a start, my heart pounding. I quickly realised it was Alphard screaming in my bedroom.

I bolted up the stairs, and threw open the door to my room.

Alphard was twitching uncontrollably, still screaming about his mother.

I approached the bed and yelled out his name a few times before he woke up with a gasp and finally stopped moving.

I sat next to him on the bed and placed my hand on his arm. "It's okay, it was just a nightmare."

He still looked freaked out, he was gasping for air.

In a split second desicion, I climbed on the bed next to him, and cradled his head to my chest. With one hand on the side of his head, I rubbed his arm with my other hand. "You're okay, you're just fine. I'm here with you."

His breathing started slowing down. "I don't think I want to sleep anymore." He said in a rough voice.

I craned my neck to look at the digital clock on my bedside table. 12:19.

"Okay, but it's barely midnight, buddy. Not really time to get up yet."

Alphard exhaled sharply.

Now that he was calming down, my grip on him started to loosen.

"Well, if you're staying up, so am I." I stated.

"You don't have to – ."

"Uh uh, I am."

I felt Alphard's body relax next to mine. And I realised this was the closest physical contact we'd ever had.

"I dreamt of my mother."

My breath caught. Abuse was a tough subject to approach.

"She was... such a horrid person. I never understood how a mother could have the heart to treat her children the way she did." He continued in a low voice.

A knot formed in my throat. I had to be strong for Alphard at the moment though, just like I had had to for Ariel. "It's not your fault."

"I know,  _I know_. But sometimes I just feel like – I just feel like..."

"It's okay. Abuse clings to you no matter how hard you fight it. It latches its claws onto you, it follows you. And all you can do is lock your doors, and hold your loved ones tight. Make your life  _yours_  and don't let the evil in ever again. That's what you're doing, even if it's little by little. I know you're so much more than what your parents were."

I could feel Alphard nod slowly. He reached his hand up to caress mine. "God, Tessa, you're so..."

But I never got to find out what I was, because after a long silence, I realised Alphard had fallen asleep.

* * *

I poured the hot water into my cup as I heard the eggs on the stove sizzling.

I'd been in a bit of a shock when I'd woken up next to Alphard in my bed this morning. Luckily, he'd still been asleep, or the situation would've been all the more awkward than it already was.

"'Morning."

I looked up to see Alphard standing at the bottom of the stairs, still looking a bit sleepy.

"Hi."

He approached the kitchen table. "Can I ask why was I sleeping on your bed?"

I tensed. "You don't remember last night?"

"Oh I remember last night. I just never registered that I was in your room." He quickly replied.

"Yeah, you fell asleep in my room after my sister arrived."

Alphard nodded. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it."

He look down for a moment. "I just, yesterday my mother came back to her portrait, and it was... not pretty."

I reached back to turn the stove off. I frowned as I faced my neighbour again. "I'm sorry, what – what does that mean?"

"Right, Muggles don't – you know how wizard photographs move?" Alphard waited for me to nod. "Well, paintings are the same, except they have a little bit more of life to them, the people in them can speak and move between other paintings. My mother had been gone from her portrait but now she's realised I'm in the house, and she's back."

I frowned. "Oh that can't be good."

Alphard cringed a little. "Yeah, it's not pretty having that old hag yelling at you about how you're a blood traitor and a disgrace to the family name."

I reached across the table and put my hand on his arm. "I'm sorry you had to listen to that."

He shrugged. "'S okay, I feel better being here."

Those words made me feel warm inside. I smiled. "I'm glad."

* * *

Alphard and I were having our first outing together.

It had come about in an odd way. I'd mentioned that I was finally getting back on the ice after having surgery, although my coach wasn't around currently and no one else was able to go with my to the rink. And Alphard had said he'd go with me, which had seemed a little weird since he was currently supposed to be on house arrest, but Alphard had promptly assured me that he could go some places. As a dog. He could turn into a freaking dog. Which apparently, only a few select people knew. It was... weird. But I went along.

So I walked into the rink I trained at in Richmond, with a large black dog walking beside me. Luckily, I knew the rink would be empty. I'd asked if I could come by really early in the morning before anyone else arrived because, well, I just wanted the rink to myself for once.

As soon as we were safely inside, Alphard turned back into a human, it was a bit unnerving watching him transfigure.

I figured not to go into the locker room, since the place was empty, and just set my stuff down on the stands and started warming up as Alphard sat down and watched.

"Do you want to get on the ice?" I asked the man.

He got a slightly worried look on his face. "Not really."

I smirked slightly. "Have you never skated before?"

He looked at his feet. "Well, no. It's not a wizard thing."

"Don't you want to try?"

He shrugged. "I guess, yeah. But I don't want my first time skating to be with a professional skater with over twenty years of experience."

I smiled and sat down next to Alphard to start lacing up my skates. "I won't be that good though, I'm still healing."

"Still, maybe another time."

"Alright."

I finished lacing up, and Alphard walked with me towards the entrance of the ice. I opened the gate. As I looked at the gleaming ice surface and felt the cold on my bare hands, I started feeling a little nervous. I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone so long without skating, what if I had lost all my skating skills? It sounded unrealistic in my head, but it still made my stomach ache.

I took a deep breath. I had to do this sooner or later, and sooner would be better. I took off the guards from my blades and asked Alphard to hold them.

I stepped onto the ice smoothly and started doing simple figure eights, just making my way around the rink. My leg didn't hurt too much, but I was scared it would as soon as I bent my knees.

Soon enough, I started with some stroking (which is basically just skating). Bending my knees still hurt a bit, but it was more bearable than what it used to be.

I stopped by the boards, next to Alphard.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just need a little break from all that knee bending."

"You know, I never really asked what your injury really consisted of."

I took a deep breath. "Um, my leg used to hurt a lot whenever I bent my knees, which is a huge part of skating. During pattern dances, you have to keep your knees bent pretty much the whole time, so it was hard for me to get through them. I couldn't afford to have the surgery I needed while we competed because of the long recovery period. The pain wasn't something I couldn't handle with painkillers, so that's why I waited to have the surgery."

I started doing some small steps and turns while we talked, not straying too far so Alphard and I could listen to each other.

"So, you and your partner don't compete anymore?" Alphard asked. Had we never talked about this? Huh.

I did a mohawk. "Nope, we're officially retired. Well, technically we retired three years ago, after the Olympics, we turned professional and started doing ice shows, but then they announced they'd allow pro athletes at the next Olympics, and Ben and I felt like we still we had some unfinished business in competition so we decided to come back for the Olympic season. We're done for good now though. We'll still do some ice shows this year, but after that, I'm not sure."

Alphard nodded slowly.

I skated for a few more minutes before my legs told me it was time.

"Thanks for coming with me today." I said to Alphard as I stepped off the ice.

He smiled. "Anything for my best neighbour."

I blushed.


	7. Chapter 7

"I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

Alphard tried to slow down his heavy breathing and nodded, looking at me with a small frown. I had coerced him into working out with me, since I'd noticed how much he seemed to lack muscle. It'd been fun, but Alphard had tired far easier than I expected. So, now we sat on the sofa resting and drinking water.

"Remember my art history degree?" I asked.

"You've mentioned it." He replied through his panting.

"I'm going to start applying for jobs at a few places." Saying it out loud was still nerve-wracking.

He exhaled. "Oh."

"I'm a bit nervous about it." I had to look away to admit this. "Although I absolutely love skating, I still have a passion for art, and I want to figure out if a job relating to it is something that will also make me happy."

Alphard gave me a thoughtful look and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I get that. I think you'll do great." He gave me a tiny smile.

I smiled back.

* * *

I watched as Alphard pulled the curtains I'd made for him shut, effectively shutting up his mother's portrait, who had been screaming about Muggles and blood statuses throughout the whole process of setting up the curtains. I let out a sigh of relief at the beautiful silence.  
Alphard seemed a bit shaken at having to be in such proximity to the portrait for such a long period of time, but he'd insisted on hanging up the curtains himself.

He led me into the kitchen wordlessly.

"Thanks for the curtains." He finally said as he approached the kitchen cupboard.

"It was no trouble at all."

"You want a drink?" He asked as he pulled a glass out.

I raised a brow. Since when did he keep food here? "Sure."

I sat at the dining table, where a letter laid half open next to a tore open envelope. I managed to read the words ' _Dear Padfoot_ ' before I realised I probably shouldn't be reading Alphard's private mail and looked away.

"It's okay if you want to read it, you know."

I let out a small gasp as I turned to face Alphard, who was standing right behind me, holding two wine-filled glasses in his hands. I frowned. "Where'd you get wine?"

He got a bit of a cheeky look on his face and smiled. "I found it."

"What, where?"

"My father's old secret stash. Come on it's safe to drink, I tested it." He set down the glasses and sat at the table. "I was going to ask you for stationary to write back either way, you might as well read it."

I sat beside him. It still felt a bit like an invasion of privacy, so I just briefly skimmed the kind of long letter. "Who's Harry? If you don't mind me asking."

Alphard put the wine glass he'd been working on down. "He's my godson. James and Lily's son."

I nodded and sipped my glass of wine (it did seem fine). I knew Alphard didn't like talking about his old friends, so I focused on something else. "And he calls you  _Padfoot_?"

"In case our letters get intercepted, only a few people know that nickname, I got it from my friends, because of y'know my animagus form." He explained.

I nodded in understanding. "I like it. The tone of the letter sounds a bit preoccupied, I should get the stationery so you can write him back."

He waved me off. "He always sounds generally preoccupied. Some of his schoolteachers are kind of evil, he stresses about it, I mean I do too, but he can be a bit paranoid sometimes."

I frowned. "Did you just say his schoolteachers are  _evil_?"

"Well, yeah lil bit." Alphard seemed nonchalant about this subject. "He's got more teachers that are good people and keep him safe though."

I blinked at the man. "Uh, can't his guardians do something about it though?"

Alphard made a strained face. "It's kind of complicated, but he's fine, I swear."

I wasn't entirely satisfied with that answer, but I figured I'd leave the subject alone if Alphard was so sure everything was fine. "I'm getting the stationary either way."

I stood up and Alphard gave up on stopping me.

By the time I got back with pen and paper, Alphard had finished his wine and was resting his head on the table, looking a few winks away from sleep. He perked up when I sat down.

"Here." I handed him the supplies.

I watched as Alphard cut off a strip of paper and scribbled a sentence on it. He then folded it up and stood up. "Well, I should mail this off."

My jaw dropped in shock. That was it? "That's all you're writing him back? The kid wrote you half the holy bible in his letter!"

Alphard grunted. "Oh come on, I'll talk to him whenever I see him next."

"He still deserves better than whatever measly response you wrote." I insisted.

Alphard sighed before reluctantly sitting back down. "Alright."

He grabbed the paper and started on a proper letter. I smiled, pleased with myself. Alphard stopped after writing two words. "I don't even know what to say to him."

"Well, figure something out."

As Alphard sat there staring at the blank sheet of paper, for some reason  _it_  came back to me. "Oh before I forget. I've been meaning to tell you, I'm going to Birmingham for a week, on the seventh, the World Championships are there this year, and though we're not competing, they asked me and Ben to be there and do some commentary and stuff, since it's home ice."

Alphard avoided my eyes. "Oh." He cleared his throat. "That's great. Have fun."

"Thanks."

"Have you heard back from any jobs yet?" He started scribbling on the paper.

"Actually, I have!" I perked up. "I think I'm going to be taking a position at the England Arts Council. I won't start until I get back from Worlds though."

Alphard nodded slowly, and looked up for a second to congratulate me, which I thanked him for.

Was it just me or was he acting a bit weird? He continued on the letter for a few minutes until he was satisfied.

He stood up. "Mailing this now."

I nodded and watched as he walked away.

* * *

"No, I don't know, Ben. I hope not." I spoke into the phone.

Ben was a bit nervous about our stint as commentators and British Figure Skating representatives, also at the prospect of being invited to perform at the gala after not having skated together for months, which was stressful to me too.

" _Should we say no, though? I'd feel bad if we said no._ " Ben ranted.

I pressed down on my suitcase, trying to get it to shut to no avail. I held the microphone away from my mouth and yelled out for Alphard, whom I wasn't actually sure was in the house.

"I'm not sure, Ben, I'm taking a few costumes in case."

"You called?" Alphard showed up on the doorway.

I gestured for him to give me a second. "I'll call you later, honey, I've got to finish packing." I said to Ben and hung up the phone.

"Can you help me shut this?" I motioned to the suitcase.

Alphard nodded and promptly sat atop of the case. "Why do you need to take all this stuff anyway?"

"You never know when you might need an emergency outfit or costume." I pulled on the zipper.

"I actually came over here to tell you something." Alphard said.

I managed to close the case with some more effort. "What's up?"

Alphard got off my case and sat on the bed. "I'm leaving for a little while."

I felt my breath catch involuntarily. "Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Well, you're going to be really busy the next few weeks, and I shouldn't really stay in the same hiding spot for too long."

I frowned. I'd gotten so accustomed to him in the past few months, I didn't even know how to take this. "Will you come back? How long are you going to be in hiding?"

Alphard rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not sure, but I will come back, maybe in a couple of months."

I felt a sense of sadness settle within me. Two whole months with him gone. "Can you at least write me? So I know you're okay."

He smile softly. "Sure."

"And please take care of yourself. For me."

He nodded, and gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

For some reason, I found I really didn't want to go through these months without him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a bit where I refer to skating partners as (letter)/(letter), that's how they're usually referred to in figure skating. For example, Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov are G/P, Bourne and Kraatz are B/K and so on.

I sat at my mother's kitchen table kneading dough for some biscuits, listening to my mum go on about some of the latest gossip from the neighbourhood.

I wasn't really following what she was saying though, until I finally heard her say, "well, enough about that, how's your new job going?"

I tensed. "Uh, alright." I stared at the raw dough on my hands.

My mum stopped mixing whatever sauce she was making at the stove. "Oh, come on Teresa, don't give me that."

I sighed. My situation at work was complicated. I enjoyed the work itself, but my relationship with my coworkers was a little... iffy. I liked most of them, but they just seemed a little wary of me, like they didn't know whether to trust me or not. I guess that I just hadn't really found my place amongst them yet. I told my mum this.

She nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much. You have a knack for finding your way anywhere. And as long as you're comfortable."

Comfortable wouldn't be a word I'd use. But I didn't want to worry my mother.

I decided I had attacked my dough long enough, and started forming little balls with it and putting them onto the baking sheet. "Oh, I almost forgot. Do you have any old newspapers I can take? I'm painting my house."

"Sure, check in the cupboard." Mum replied.

I already knew she had a bunch of old newspapers, my mum was a bit of a hoarder, I'd just asked as a courtesy.

"Didn't you paint your house a couple of months ago?" She asked.

"Yeah." I shrugged. "But I'm bored." Now that Alphard wasn't around.

Mum sighed and stirred her sauce. "You could always come here help me do chores, you know."

I giggled. "Mmm, nothanks."

* * *

Ben was helping me paint.

We hadn't been able to share the ice many times this year, but we'd made a promise to each other before retiring that we'd still hang out even if we couldn't train together every day, as we had for so many years.

Ben and I were both pretty domestic people, we enjoyed doing simple things together, like painting.

The newspapers from my mother's house were spread out bordering the walls. One of the walls was going to be pearly white, and the other a soft lilac. Ben and I were each working on a wall.

"So, thoughts on G/P winning Worlds?" Ben asked as he stood on his tiptoes trying to reach the top of the wall. Ben hadn't been around for Worlds, and it wasn't until now that we were able to catch up on all the happenings, like G/P winning, which I did not want to talk about.

I let out a huff. "You know how I feel about Pasha so, honestly no comment."

That girl was such a complicated person, but I'd learned to just not comment on either her or her skating even if it was just in front of Ben.

"I mean, did you see their quickstep though?"

I threw my head back. "Ugh, yes, it was so perfect I almost cried, but I don't want to talk about them, alright?"

"Alright, what about R/K?"

I thanked the skating gods Ben left G/P alone, my relationship with them was too complicated to get into at the moment, plus Ben already knew everything. "Oh their quickstep is amazing too. They're so good, they really got those skating skills! I'm so happy for them."

"Yeah, they're a lot of fun to watch, they deserve." Ben carefully dipped his brush in the white paint bucket. "You must be disappointed about B/K though, right?"

"Oh god, don't even remind me about that right now." I wailed. "They have  _so_  much potential, and I want them to do well so bad, they  _deserve_  a Worlds medal!"

Ben chuckled at my little rant.

I scooted over to Ben's spot to check if his work was coming along nicely. It was. But just as I looked down to check how much paint was left on his bucket, something caught my eye. It was a picture in the paper. The man in the picture, although he sported a beard and looked very grim, was Alphard. The headline 'MASS-MURDERER SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES PRISON' jumped out at me, as if taunting me. I stifled a gasp, and in a split-second I (kind of carelessly) tore the section of the paper with the article, folded it and put it in my back pocket.

Ben frowned as he caught me putting the paper in my pocket. "What was that?"

I tried to seem nonchalant. "Oh I just realised that paper had an article about us that my mum must've forgotten to clip. I'm going to give it to her later."

I hoped to god he wouldn't ask to see this nonexistent article, and that wouldn't think anything about  _my mother_ , of all people, not spotting an article about us on the paper.

Ben just hummed in response.

I exhaled and offered Ben an innocent smile before going back to the task at hand. I could barely focus on either the painting or the conversation though. What was Alphard's picture doing attached to that headline?  _Was he_  a mass murderer?  _What was happening?_  I knew that whatever I found out about Alphard, I had to find out on my own, so I had to wait for Ben to leave. I tried to calm myself down, maybe the man in the picture just looked a LOT like Alphard, maybe I was freaking out over nothing. Because there had to be a reasonable explanation.  _Right?_

* * *

_**MASS-MURDERER SIRIUS BLACK ESCAPES PRISON** _

_**London, July 1993 – Murderer Sirius Black has escaped from his high security prison cell this past weekend. He was currently serving a life sentence, which he received twelve years ago for murdering thirteen people in cold blood.** _   
_**It is currently unknown how Black was able to escape but it is important to keep an eye out, as he is a dangerous criminal who is believed to be armed. If you have any information regarding Black's whereabouts we urge you to contact the London Police at 155 555 555.  
Black is 5'10'', weighs 120 pounds, with grey eyes and shoulder-length black hair. If you see him, do not engage, again, he is armed and dangerous.** _

Alphard  _was_  the man in the picture. As much as I'd tried to tell myself otherwise, I couldn't deny that the man who I had befriend, who had been staying at my house every night for the past three months, was mass murderer Sirius Black.

I'd read the short article six times. At first I'd cried because I didn't know what to do, what to believe. But I'd soon realised that I had to think rationally, and I couldn't do that and sob at the same time.

So many things made sense now. Why Alphard — or Sirius, I should say — said he was on the run and couldn't go outside, why he'd given me a fake name. How could I have been so stupid?

I assumed his murders had to do with magic, since there was so little information surrounding what the actual crime had consisted of.

It felt pretty shitty to be fooled like this. I was teeming with emotions at the moment. This was not the first time I'd trusted someone who ended up being not who I thought they were, but it was the most off I'd ever been in thinking I knew someone's character.

After my emotions had settled a bit, I knew I had to figure out what to do next. Because Alphard — I mean, Sirius — had assured me he'd come back at some point. Should I just move, and pretend this never happened? Should I confront him? Confronting a killer wasn't an idea I was very comfortable with.

I still felt like I needed some more answers though. I wanted to know a bit more of the details surrounding the crime. My first thing thought was Remus, but I didn't really have a way of knowing if he was in on this whole thing, or if he was a criminal too, and I honestly didn't want to risk it. Ugh.

But the worst part about this whole thing was thinking about how much I'd trusted Al – Sirius without hesitation. I've always known trusting people too much was my fatal flaw, and this situation only served to prove that even further. Yet, although I kept telling myself that I'd never trust anyone ever again, somehow I still believed (even if this theory of mine  _had_  come back to bite me in the arse more than once) that the best way to know if you can trust someone is to trust them.

* * *

The answer was Tonks.

After I'd counted Remus out, I'd realised that I did know another person in the magical community, Tonks. Alphard – SIRIUS – had once said she was his niece, and I was choosing to believe that was true, in which case, she probably had some inside information. I didn't want to seem nosy about it though. I had it all planned out though.

I'd asked Tonks to meet me at the café we'd been frequenting when we hung out. She currently sat in front of me, sipping on her iced coffee, which she ordered every single time since apparently wizards didn't have it.

"Listen, Tonks, there's something that's been bothering me about the wizard world lately, and my friend won't answer my questions, and you're the only other magical person I know." I'd spent hours working on that phrasing. Tonks nodded at me to go on. "Um, do you know who Sirius Black is?"

I searched my friend's face for a reaction, but she remained pretty stoic.

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

I still had no idea if she was his niece or not. According to how this conversation went in my head, I should've known by now. But I could improvise a bit.

I proceeded to explain my rehearsed bit about how I'd just heard the name in the paper and I'd figured out his murders had to do with magic.

Tonks looked a bit pensive. "Uh, well. You know about the war a few years back?" Tonks waited for me to nod. "Well, Sirius Black was a known member of the Order of the Phoenix, but then everyone found out he was a double-crosser when he betrayed his friends to You-Know-Who, and they were murdered as a result. Another one of his so-called friends tried to confront him about it, he murdered him and a whole lot of Muggles that were around when it happened. Then he was imprisoned, until he escaped Merlin knows how."

Okay, that is  _so_  much worse than I thought. "Do you know who the friends he betrayed were?"

"Yeah, it was Lily and James Potter, Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin, his group of friends. Lily and James were the ones You-Know-Who killed, Pettigrew was the one  _he_  killed himself. The only one still alive is Lupin."

I could almost hear the gears in my brain turning. I was absolute confusion. It'd been Lily and James, whom Sirius spoke of so highly, that he'd betrayed. And Peter, whom he'd killed, was the one he'd felt betrayed by.  _What kind of psychopath?_

"Did that help?" Tonks asked.

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, it definitely did, thanks."

"You know, I never asked who your wizard friend is, maybe I know them."

I crossed my arms above my chest. At least I was going to tell her the truth for once. "His name is Remus Lupin... and I've got some questions for him."


End file.
